“He Tried to Burn Our Family Alive”: Gov. Shapiro Speaks After Firebomber’s Guilty Plea
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) delivered emotional remarks Tuesday after the man who firebombed the governor’s mansion during Passover pleaded guilty to attempted murder and terrorism, and was sentenced to between 25-50 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Cody Balmer, 38, scaled the fence, broke in, and threw Molotov cocktails that caused millions in damage while Shapiro, who is Jewish, and his family slept inside. No one was injured.
Balmer called 911 about an hour after the attack and admitted to setting the fire around 2 a.m. ET. He told dispatchers that he didn’t approve of Shapiro’s views on the war in Gaza. He told police he planned to attack the governor with a sledgehammer if he had encountered him.
”It’s hard for me to stand before you today and utter the words attempted murder when it’s your own life,” Shapiro said. “It’s especially hard to know that he tried to burn our family to death while we slept.”
POLITICAL VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC
Shapiro reflected on his family’s fear and the “unacceptable level of political violence” across the U.S., noting people do not want to run for office over fears their family could be hurt.
His comments come as President Trump on Tuesday posthumously awarded conservative activist Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom — America’s highest civilian honor. Kirk was assassinated while speaking at an event last month.
Political violence has increasingly targeted both parties in recent years. That includes multiple assassination attempts on President Trump, a plot to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and the murder of Democratic Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman.